the mask of zorro
by Gus Kinney The Prodigal Son
Summary: this is Zorro yugioh stale and it is yaoi its good come in and see
1. Chapter 1

_The mask of Zorro_

_It was as dark as death. The two boys hunched close together inside the wagon the younger boy, Joey, had a knife. Carefully, he cut through the black canvas that covered the wagon bed._

_The boys could hear loud voices and drums coming closer. "freedom! Liberty! Independence!" the voices chanted. "freedom! Liberty! Independence!" _

_Joey's knife made one eyehole, then a second. He pressed his face against the canvas and peered outside. there was a blur of sound and movement. Drums pounded along with the chants. Feet stomped. Hands clapped. The voices of Spanish soldiers. "shut your mouths!" "you back in line!" "get back there! Keep your distance!"_

_As Joey watched the soldiers push back, his brother, tristan, became impatient. Tristan pulled at his brother's arm. "come on Joey, " he whispered. "it's my turn. Let me see." Joey was only eight, two years younger then his brother, tristan, but he knew enough to keep quiet. He moved aside so tristan could peer out one peephole._

_Both boys stared in amazement. The town square was jammed with people. The crowd was barely held back by soldiers jabbing their bayonets. The soldiers were outnumbered and looked nervous._

_The throng filling the sun baked square was made up of Mexican peasants. They jeered at the Spanish soldiers in their fancy uniforms._

"_down with the Spanish flag!" someone yelled. _

_With that, a young peasant snatched the ragged flag flying in the wind. Everyone cheered wildly._

"_use it to clean your floors!" an old man shouted._

_Another man climbed the pole to attach a Mexican flag. one solder tried to stop him, but a group of peasants moved in front of the flagpole. The solder backed away._

_The reason for the crowd's anger was at the other end of the square._

_In the area protected by soldiers, there were three posts. A man was tied to each post. The men were about to die._

_It was 1821. After years of bloody fighting, the Mexican people had finally defeated the Spanish rulers and won their independence. With it they had Alta California, that fabulous strip of land on the western shore of North America. Now Alta California belonged to the victor, general Santa Anna of Mexico._

_Maximillion Pegasus , the hated governor of Alta California, had been recalled to Spain. But true to character, he was not finished. As a final act of power, he chose three innocent men and ordered them shot in front of their families._

_The spirit of justice demanded a champion…. Terrified but excited, Joey and tristan watched the six man firing squad march into position._

_Bright light suddenly flooded the dark wagon bed._

"_hey!" a voice roared. "what are you doing, cutting holes in my wagon cover?"_

_The boys blinked at the tall man lifting up the rear flap. it was senor Lopez, the town undertaker. Inside his wagon were four freshly made coffins. Three for the condemned prisoners outside and one for a mystery guest. _

_The undertaker's narrow lips pinched into a scowl. _

"_This is a place of business !" he scolded. "not for the games of boys!"_

_Tristan nodded sheepishly. "I'm sorry, senor Lopez. We are just waiting for Zorro."_

"_not in here, you aren't," Lopez said wearily. "go home, mustaches."_

_Relieved that they wouldn't be punished, Joey looked at the undertaker. "do you think he's really going to come, senor Lopez?" _

_The pale, thin undertaker squinted at the hopeful little boy. He looked around and put a finger to his lips. "someone thinks he will, "lopez whispered. He pulled away a sheet covering the fourth coffin revealing a black Z carved in the wood._

_The boys gaped at the coffin. They glanced at each other, then jumped off the wagon._

"_tristan! Joey! The undertaker's sharp voice drew them up short. Slowly the two brothers turned around, expecting the worst. Instead, senor lopez nodded at the shiny coffins. "I carved boxes for your mother and father once, " he said sadly." I would hate to carve two more for you."_

_The little boys shivered as the point sank in._

"_go home," lopez said gruffly._

_Tristan and joey hurried away. A moment later they were lost in the crowd._

_The angry mob was becoming dangerous. They threw anything they could find at the soldiers fruit, stones, even shoes. Their chanting grew louder._

"_death to montero! Death to Pegasus!"_

_The crowd's war cry rose high above the square to the governor's office. Hearing the shouts, maximillion Pegasus, _

_The Spanish governor, stepped outside onto the balcony and looked down at the crowded square. His darkly handsome face was calm as he watched the peasants shaking their fists at him. They hated him, but he didn't care. Pegasus considered them animals, like sheep and cattle._

_Swak! A few well aimed tomatoes splattered near him, him but Pegasus didn't bother to duck._

"_their aim is hopeless as their future," montero muttered with a smug smile._

_But the truth was, the peasants had won and the Spanish rulers were packing their bags. Even now the palace was being stripped of all valuables. They would pay for Pegasus's return to Spain._

_Enraged at the sight of Pegasus on the balcony, the crowd surged against the line of soldiers._

_Although the soldiers were heavily armed, the peasants were ready to explode._

_Down in the square, tristan tried to keep track of his little brother. Joey was always in danger of being kicked or stepped on as they scooted through the noisy mass of legs._

_Both boys tried to creep closer to the firing squad, for a better view. They were a few yards away when a man wearing sandals planted his feet in their path. _

_The boys looked up and froze. Looming over them was the round moon face of fray Felipe, the town priest. He wasn't smiling._

"_get back to the mission, you little cow chips!" fray felipe growled. "this is no place for you. "_

_The boys glanced at each other, then slipped around the priest and darted into the crowd._

_Laughing. Joey and tristan scrambled through the milling mob. They knew fray felipe wouldn't punish them._

_The brawny priest looked like a bear, but he was as gentle as a lamb._

_As the boys neared the other side of the plaza, they heard familiar sounds children's voices, laughter, scattered applause. Joey and tristan arrived just as a puppet show reached its climax. There were two figures one was zorro and the other maximillion Pegasus._

_Both puppets had been made by hand with loving attention to detail. The zorro figure wore a black silk mask and silver spurs. The Pegasus puppet was adorned with jewelry and a fancy sword just like the real one_

"_I am maximillion Pegasus!" a child actor said in a deep voice. "I have many soldiers! All must obey me!"_

_The child playing zorro had stage fight. "no, Pegasus I will not obey you!" he shouted. Then he slowed down. "because, uh … because you are … stupid and … dumb!"_

_Joey couldn't stand it. His hero was being played like a dummy. "wait, wait! That's no good," he cried, pushing through the ring of spectators. "zorro should say, 'I spit in your face, Pegasus! Death to the Spanish high boots! Wherever I carve my Z, the people know that ' "_

_His performance was cut short by the thunder of hoof beats. All the children looked up and saw three horseman galloping across the town square. The horseman paid no heed to the people crowding their path peasant, soldier, or anyone else. They rode directly_

_Toward the group of children. Playtime was over. Dropping the puppets, the frightened kids dived, ran, and crawled out of the way the slashing hooves, barely escaping. Their puppets weren't_

_So lucky. _

_The galloping horses crushed the puppets as they tramped through. After they passed, the children ran back to see if anything could be saved. But the horsemen had left nothing except splintered wood and sadness._

_The riders crane an aristocrat, and his two bodyguards galloped to the center of the square._

_Everyone jumped out of the way of their horses. Don luis pulled up his horse in front of the palace. He was tall and lean with a neat goatee and a regal manner. With a disgusted frown he dismounted and marched through the rabble, followed by his bodyguards. Head high, he strode into the great hall._

_His expression remained stony as he took in the frantic activity around him. The palace was being taken apart by piece. Valuable paintings, silverware, furniture, crystal all were being carted off by the soldiers. Don luis shook his head and climbed up the stairs._

_As he quickly walked along the hall, don luis dodged two servants hauling a rolled up rug. The door to the main office was ajar. Don luis stepped inside, anxious to see governor Pegasus. He had urgent news. Pegasus was standing on the balcony. He had seen don luis's dramatic arrival and was slightly amused. He calmly studied the angry mob as he waited. Pegasus's snake eyes darted to the glass doors as don luis came out onto the balcony. _

"_Pegasus," don luis said breathlessly. "santa anna's men are three miles from town. You have to go sir now!" _

_Pegasus shrugged. "the Spanish government would like to thank you for your devoted service, don luis." he handed the nobleman an official looking parchment. _

"_this land is the property of the Spanish government,' " don luis said, reading the document. _

"_and in two hours it will be the property of the Mexican government unless I turn them over to,"_

_Pegasus replied," I know santa anna. He will realize that the nobleman will be dutiful taxpayers and he will _

_Respect your claims." he motioned to a stack of similar documents on a table nearby. "the rest of alta California I've divided equally among the other aristocrats. I trust you will make sure they receive their grants."_

_Don luis picked up the documents and quickly flipped through them. He wasn't happy at what he saw, but he knew he had to be diplomatic. "uh well sir," he said, addressing Pegasus politely, " the land you have given me is mostly desert, whereas you have favored don peralta with the lush farmlands of Pegasus cut him off. "one day you'll understand that I've favored you above all, don luis,"_

_Pegasus turned back to the milling crowd below. "yes, yes." he sighed, as if bored. "just one duty to perform." as Pegasus watched, the leader of the firing squad began barking orders to his men. It was time for the execution._

_Pegasus turned and moved briskly to the railing " get the children out of the plaza," he shouted down to the soldiers. Immediately!" he looked at don luis "children should never have to see the things we do."_

_There was a rush of activity as the soldiers began rounding up children. Everybody was yelling the soldiers, mothers, children as they were hauled off. Most of the kids were terrified, but some were angry at missing the big show._

_Especially tristan and joey, who were dragged screeching and kicking in different direction. As his older brother disappeared, joey became scared. He yanked hard to get free, but the man holding him had an iron grip._

_Joey blinked. The man wasn't a solider at all. He wore the brown robes of a monk, like fray felipe._

_The boy stared kicking. "no! no! he yelled. " someone has to stop the killings!" _

"_someone will," the monk whispered. Joey peered at the monk. Suddenly he stiffened. Beneath the monks rough robe, he could see shiny black boots with silver spurs and the sharp tip of a silver sword. Joey's heart began to pound._

_Eyes wide, he looked up and saw a black silk mask inside the monks hood. Just below the mask was a dashing mustache and the flash of a smile._

_Joey could hardly breathe. It was him zorro "but you're…" joey sputtered. The masked man put a finger to his lips. "shh. " he smiled, as if assuring joey that everything would be fine then he wheeled and vanished into the crowd. It took joey a long time to find tristan. The boy had to dodge soldiers, horses, and angry people as he hunted for his brother._

_Finally he spotted tristan. His brother was tied with a rope to a group of other children the group was guarded by only one solider. Joey didn't hesitate. He picked up a stone and threw it, neatly popping the guard on the head. The guard whirled and charged at joey, who took of through the crowed. Joey ducked, circled, and ran right back toward his brother. When he reached the captive children, he plowed into tristan then kept going, closely followed by the soldier. As joey drew the guard away, tristan cut the rope with the knife his brother had slipped him once free tristan handed the blade to the boy next to him and lost himself in the confusion._

_The brothers knew where to meet. For years they'd shared a secret hiding place that overlooked the plaza and Pegasus's terrace. Separately they made their way to the rooftop._

_Before joey could tell his brother about the masked man, Pegasus signaled the firing squad._

_The captain drew his sword. "preparen! Ready!" click! The firing squad cocked their rifles._

_Joey searched the crowed for some sigh of zorro, but everyone was still._

_The squad leader raised his sword. "apunten! Aim!" six rifles pointed at the prisoners. The three men stood straight, facing death with honor._

_Heart racing, joey watched the captain bring his sword down._

"_fuego! Fire!"_

_Six fingers squeezed the triggers. At the moment the stillness exploded. With a sharp crack, a whip snaked around one rifle and yanked it sideways into the others. Like dominos, all five rifles swept back to point directly at the captain! "no don't fire no!_

_Six shots shattered his frantic cry._

_The squad leader crumpled to the ground. Above him a cloaked figure floated in the air like a black angel._

_Joey saw him first. "zorro!"_

_The crowd parted as zorro dropped lightly on his shiny black boots, sword ready._

_Zorro! People yelled. Zorro!_

_With an athletic leap zorro reached the prisoners._

_Three quick slashes of his blade and they were free. A few yards away, the men in the execution squad were hurriedly reloading. Some of the soldiers drew their swords and charged. _

_Moving like the wind, zorro thrust at his attackers, his blade a blur of gleaming steel. His skillful defense enabled the prisoners to escape into the crowd._

_From his balcony, Pegasus calmly watched zorro fight off his soldiers. Quick. Deadly. He anticipated every attack._

_Don luis grasped his own sword helplessly. "we should have know zorro would try to save them."_

_Pegasus gave him a triumphant smile. "I was counting on it." he waved his hand as if dismissing a pet dog._

"_you'd better go now, don luis."_

_Still smiling, Pegasus reached for a big iron bell on the wall and began to ring._

_Below, the masked rebel's sword hissed like a snake as he held off two soldiers at once. One of the soldiers managed to cut zorro's arm before he fell. But the wound didn't seem to slow him down._

_Clang! Joey and tristan looked up when they heard the bell. they both knew it was a signal._

_They were right. Instantly three rifleman appeared in the tower below the bell and took aim at zorro._

_Tristan nudged his brother. "look!"_

_Joey was a step ahead. He spotted a large stone angel at the edge of the roof. He pushed at the heavy statue with all his might. Tristan added his weight, and the angel ripped free crashing down on the three soldiers below._

_Zorro spun around at the loud noise and saw the fallen riflemen. then he spotted the two boys on the roof above. Zorro started to wave when a bullet spat past his ear._

_A hail of gunfire churned up the dirt around him as the soldiers attacked. Zorro dived, smashed through a nearby door, and raced up the stairs._

_The square became quiet. Joey and tristan peered over the edge of the roof. The soldiers were reloading. Like the soldiers and everyone else the boys waited for zorro to reappear._

_A long shadow slipped across the roof. Two black gloved hands dropped onto the boys' shoulders. The boys whirled, ready to fight._

_Standing over them was a tall, black masked figure._

_Joey and tristan blinked. It was zorro!_

"_my thanks to you, gentlemen," zorro said calmly._

_He removed a medallion from around his neck. It had an odd design several circles within a larger circle._

_Zorro handed the medallion to the older boy, tristan eyes and mouth were wide with amazement as he lifted the medal for joey to see._

_It was a ceremonial moment. The medal almost seemed to glow. Zorro put one hand on each boy's shoulder, allowing himself a brief second to share their happiness. Then he was moving to the edge of the roof._

"_now, if you'll excuse me," zorro called, drawing his sword, "I'm missing my own party."_

_As lightly as a black cat, he dropped onto an overhang, leaped to a canopy, and landed on Pegasus's balcony, another swift step and his sword was scratching the governor's throat. _

_Pegasus did not flinch from zorro's blade. He was determined to die proudly. _

"_you would murder three innocent men, just to capture me?" zorro said with contemenpt._

_Pegasus 's snake eyes glared at him. "I would murder a hundred more to see you in irons."_

_A smile flickered beneath zorro's mask. "three men three cuts."_

_With lightning speed, zorro sliced three quick cuts on Pegasus's neck. An oily red Z appeared, like a tattoo._

_The stunned governor clapped his hand over the bloody wound._

"_A small memento of Mexico," zorro said leaping onto the rail "remember not to pick the scabs."_

_The masked man whistled. Before the sound faded, A huge black stallion bolted out of the shadows. Black cloak spread like wings, zorro dropped from the railing onto the horse's back._

_As the crowd cheered, zorro charged through a pack of soldiers, scattering them like bowling pins. Then his horse wheeled and galloped up a flight of stairs! From their perch, joey and tristan saw zorro's stallion race across the roof and leap into space. For a moment horse and rider seemed frozen against the red sky._

_An instant later they landed on the church roof. Zorro turned his horse to face the cheering peasants below. He drew his sword and lifted it high in a gesture of victory._

_His horse, and tornado, reared up proudly, galloped, front hooves pawing the air._

_The mob roared. Tornado turned, galloped across the roof, and jumped a wide gap to the next building._

_In silent awe, joey and tristan watched zorro's horse float from rooftop to rooftop, then fade away into the setting sun._

_As if praying, tristan fingered the silver medallion that now hung around his neck._

_Just below, on the balcony, Pegasus also watched zorro's grand's exit. Shaking with pain and fury, Pegasus removed his hand from his wound._

_There on his palm was a bloody Z._

_The mark of zorro._

ok guys i made this but you will tell me who is zorro


	2. not a chapter

This is not a chapter kaiba can not be zorro because zorro is getting old so anyone that is old or I can just make up someone what would you like me to do


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